Jordan Clarke
Filoxenia is the perfect hotel for families and couples alike. Located in Tsilivi, it's away from the party area of laganas. The hotel is close to a vehicle rental shop, allowing you access to the entire island. It's also approximately a 15 minute walk to the local shops/amenities.
The hotel itself is brilliant, the staff are absolutely fantastic and the bartenders are a blast.
The only downside was (not sure whether it's because I went toward the end of the season) but the entertainment was almost non-existent.
Amy Buckley
We have had a lovely stay at this hotel. Our first time in Greece and we have experienced friendly people and a lovely atmosphere.
One bar staff member in particular deserves a special mention as he was always so friendly and welcoming to everyone. My children nicknamed him 'boss man' because they thought he was so cool.
the only thing that fell short was the entertainment, I think there could have been more on offer in the evenings.
Jeremy Jacobs
Overall it was a reasonably good stay. Some good points and some areas for improvement/not so good.
Top line. This isn’t an expensive hotel. It’s rated 3 Plus stars by TUI which I think is very generous. It’s listed as a 4 star hotel on Google which it definitely isn’t. If you’re staying for a week you will be OK. I would struggle here for any more time.
For context we would usually stay in 4 or 5 star hotels so keep that in mind when reading this review. Not meant in a judgy way, we’re not snobs but we wouldn’t return. We also visited in mid September when the kids are at school. Can’t comment on what it’s like when kids are here. There’s not much for the kids to do and there entertainment is patchy. We didn’t go to any of it so can’t comment.
It’s a very clean hotel. There are some places where it falls down. Like missing toilet seats in the public areas and some outdated furniture. Also it seems to be a Greek thing that they don’t put locks on toilet doors. We stayed all inclusive so we had air con in our rooms but I heard some rooms you have to pay extra for.
There are two pool areas one has much newer sun-beds which a modern and comfortable. The other area had cheaper ones. If they are intended for different guests it’s definitely not enforced.
Staff are friendly enough. The front desk are amazing and the bar and restaurant staff are friendly. The odd sour faced ones but nothing to spoil the trip.
The rooms are very spacious and the maids do a brilliant job. The rooms and bathrooms could do with modernising but it’s not terrible. The TV is so tiny it might as well not be in the room. We never used it. Beds are a bit hard and pillows are what you get in any hotel of this class. We slept well.
It’s mostly British people. A few Germans. An older crowd so reasonable peaceful.
The hotel is right next to a single lane road which can get busy but the road noise isn’t too bad.
It’s located close to the airport runway so bonus is you’re close to the airport. Downside is you’re close to airport. The noise of the aircraft taking off can be pretty loud. We always use ear plugs at night so didn’t bother us. It’s not crazy loud but loud enough.
Now onto the food and drinks.
I’ll start off by saying the drinks are mostly awful. If you’re the hotel and reading this, change them! Beer is OK, wine is an insult to wine. It’s vile. The mixers are equally as bad. Off brand trash. We ended up going to the supermarket to buy our own. The staff are well aware the drinks are awful. A real disappointment. You might love them but not for us. They also use single use plastic and always throw your cup away so much go through so much plastic which I’m not a fan of.
Food. It’s a tricky one. If you’re expecting great Greek dishes reset your expectations. The food options are very limited BUT they do some really great dishes BUT proper home cooked food. The sort of food a Mother would cook. It won’t blow you away but overall we always found something to eat and whilst the quality isn’t great we really enjoyed a number of dishes. They have a good range of salad items and some cheeses and the tomatoes were so ripe, fresh and red. So not all bad news. If you’re a food snob then you probably NOT enjoy this place.
Location wise it’s a little out of the way. If you rent a car you can get around the island in a few days. There are some mind blowing beaches. You’re a 15 minute walk (95% pavement and flat) walk to the town which has loads of bars, shops and restaurants. It’s definitely less hectic than Laganas Beach. You can also walk to the local beach but it’s not nice.
Overall it’s OK, would be return. Probably not but we didn’t hate it. If you usually stay in 3 star or below places you will enjoy it.
Christine Bell
Would definitely go back there was lovely kept gardens, they had three pools one for younger children. Staff were polite and very approachable if you needed anything they would sort it. They had a shuttle bus to take you down to the beach or it was a nice flat road you could walk down. The food was brilliant there was always something for everyone.would really recommend this hotel. We stayed for two weeks. Thank you to all the staff. We had a fantastic break away
Jakub Poreba
Amazing place to spend your holidays at!
The food was just delicious and there was always something to choose from, so the dishes were not repeatable. You also have a chance to try different Greek dishes and desserts, which is great. There are plenty of different salads and vegetables, olives and cheese (with amazing feta). The pool bar is great, however drinks are rather basic and you have to pay for brand alcohol.
The rooms are spacious, however they could use some renovation, but it's rather comfortable anyway. All rooms have pool view and a terrace, but the windows are blocking most of the noise coming from the outside, so you can still enjoy your siesta. Towels and linen are exchanged daily, so rooms are very clean. Even though we booked our stay through an agency and we didn't have AC included, the hotel provided free air-conditioning for everyone because of hot temperatures in summer (this was in early September).
Obviously the hotel is far away from the beach, but there is a shuttle mini van that departs from the hotel. It runs only 4 times a day and I'd say it should be more frequent, but I spent most of the time at one of two swimming pools, cause I found it better than the beach (sea was rather dirty at the time). Mind you, there aren't many shops in the vicinity - the closest one would be an 8 minute walk and most restaurants in Tsilivi are 15 minutes on foot. You can go to Zakynthos town by public bus which costs 2 euros per person, but it doesn't depart from the bus stop right in front of the hotel entrance, so it was a bit misleading.
The staff is always very kind, helpful and extremely chatty!
I'd definitely recommend Filoxenia. It isn't a huge hotel, but for me it's a big asset. If you want to party, go to the beach often or travel with children and seek animations, I'd probably advise going somewhere else.
My Booking
